In these years, image forming systems have been developed, wherein functions can be expanded by combining the image forming apparatuses with a peripheral equipment(s) as user desires or to be adjusted to the environment of use.
In recent years, image forming apparatuses such as digital copying machines are more and more digitalized, and such image forming apparatuses used in offices are often connected to network as with a variety of terminal equipments. Under such environment of use, to be capable of processing a large volume of image data, a large capacity feeder unit (recording material supply device) as a peripheral equipment is often combined with an image forming apparatus such as copying machine, a printer, etc.
Such image forming apparatus is, for example, made up of an image forming section, a scanner, a feeder section, etc., (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 9-297440/1997 (Tokukaihei 9-297440), published on Nov. 18, 1997 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,032)).
As illustrated in FIG. 11, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 9-297440/1997 discloses an image forming apparatus including a main body unit 110, and a scanner 120 as a scanner section separately provided from the main body unit 110.
This main body unit 110 is made up of an image forming section 130 for forming an image and a feeder 140 as a feeding section, provided below the image forming section 130, for transporting a recording material to the image forming section 130. The feeder 140 includes a plurality of feed cassettes 141, and is arranged so as to feed a recording material to the image forming section 130 from either one of the plurality of feed cassettes 141 through a transport path 142.
In the image forming apparatus of the foregoing structure, in an event that a paper jam occurs in the transport path 142, the user needs to check the position of the paper jam with his/her eyes, and remove the jammed recording material.
To allow the user to perform the foregoing operation of removing the jammed recording material, the image forming apparatus is generally provided with an opening for allowing the transport path to open on the side face of an image forming apparatus main body. With this structure, when a paper jam occurs, the user opens this opening on the side face to remove the paper stuck in the transport path.
As illustrated in FIG. 11, in the image forming apparatus, a side cover 150, which is an opening for allowing the transport path 142 to open for removing a jammed recording material is formed on the side face of the image forming section 130 on the side face of the main body unit 110. The side cover 150 can be opened and closed by rotating about an axis 151 provided below the side cover 150.
The image forming apparatus is also provided with a both-sided unit 160 outside the side cover 150 on the main body unit 110. This both-sided unit 160 is provided for transporting a recording material having recorded thereon an image to the main body unit 110 again by reversing the recording material by a switch back. For this reason, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the image forming apparatus is arranged so as to open the transport path 142 by moving the side cover 150 downwards to the position indicated by a solid line from the position indicated by a chain double-dashed line in the state where both-sided unit 160 is detached from the side cover 150 using the axis 161 provided below the both-sided unit 160 as a fulcrum.
Although not shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 9-297440/1997 (Tokukaihei 9-297440), according to the feeder 140, in consideration of such event that a recording material is jammed in a common transport path which extends in a longitudinal direction for transporting the recording material as fed from either one of the plurality of feed cassettes 141 of the feeder 140, the structure which allows the transport path to open is needed.
Such structure of allowing the transport path to open will be explained through an example of FIG. 13 (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 7-301964/1995 (Tokukaihei 7-301964) published on Nov. 14, 1995).
As illustrated in FIG. 13, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 7-301964/1995 discloses an image forming apparatus, which is provided with a plurality of feed trays 203 in the feed unit 202 below the main body unit 201.
The image forming apparatus is provided with a common transport path 204 for transporting a recording material P as fed from the feed tray 203 to the main body unit 201. According to the image forming apparatus, by opening a guide cover 205 provided on the side face of the feeder unit 202 in a direction crossing the recording material transport direction Z at right angle, it is possible to remove a recording material P stuck in the transport path 204.
According to the image forming apparatus of the Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 9-297440/1997, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 7-301964/1995, it is possible to check the recording material and remove it from the transport path only by opening the transport path, which extends in the longitudinal direction from the side face of the image forming apparatus.
However, with the structure of the image forming apparatus wherein the transport path which extends in the longitudinal direction is provided on the side face of the image forming apparatus, it is difficult to connect a peripheral equipment for system-up to the image forming apparatus on the side of the transport path as in the image forming apparatuses of the Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 9-297440/1997 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 7-301964/1995 (Tokukaihei 7-301964).
Specifically, for example, in the case where a large volume feeder unit capable of storing a plurality of recording materials in a plurality of feeder cassettes is connected in parallel to the transport path in the image forming apparatus, it is necessary to move the large volume feeder unit each time the transport path is opened.
In this case, a problem arises in that it is difficult to move the feeder unit to be apart from the side face of the image forming apparatus in an efficient manner, as the feeder unit storing a large volume recording material is very heavy. Besides, to move the large volume feeder unit to be apart from the side face of the image forming apparatus, it is necessary to install the image forming apparatus and the feeder unit in consideration of the operation space for such movement, and the selection for the installation spaces of the image forming apparatus are therefore limited. The latter problem is not a particular problem for the case of adopting the large volume feeder unit as the peripheral equipment of the image forming apparatus, and such problem arises when connecting any of a peripheral equipment in parallel to the side of the transport path for system-up of the image forming apparatus of the foregoing structure.
In order to overcome the foregoing problem, the feeder unit may be connected in parallel to the image forming apparatus on an opposite side of the common transport path. In this case, however, it is necessary to provide a new transport path, which extends to the common transport path from the side face on the opposite side of the common transport path in the image forming apparatus, which results in a longer transport path. As a result, a longer time is needed to print out one sheet, and a transporting error of the recording material is liable to occur.